It is said that no one is indispensable but an individual footballer can rarely have seemed more essential to Liverpool's future wellbeing than Fernando Torres. Indeed the sheer force of El Niño's talent allied to his extraordinary commercial potential appears to have helped draw Jianhua "Kenny" Huang to Anfield and a potentially debt-erasing takeover.

The days when rich men regarded clubs as glorified train sets are long gone but while Huang is almost certainly far too hard-headed to treat Liverpool as an expensive toy the Chinese-born investor knows a marketing opportunity when he sees one.

It will certainly not have escaped his and other bidders' notice that an international merchandising survey released yesterday reveals that official Premier League replica shirts emblazoned with Torres on the back outsold those bearing the name of any other player in England last season. According to Sporting ID's statistics, another Liverpool player, Steven Gerrard, was second in the popularity stakes, while Manchester United's Wayne Rooney ranked third.

Torres's progress on the pitch last season may have stalled because of the nagging injuries which restricted him to a bit part in Spain's World Cup win yet the 26-year-old remains arguably the world's best striker and Roy Hodgson has duly devoted much of his first month in charge to subtly persuading his prize possession to give Liverpool the benefit of the doubt for another year.

So far Rafael Benítez's successor appears to be winning his battle for Torres's heart and mind. Reassuringly on schedule, the striker returned from a post World Cup holiday to begin pre-season training at Melwood, Liverpool's weekday HQ, yesterday before happily posing for photographers while jogging, stretching and touching his toes.

Although just last week Hodgson told reporters he believed the Spaniard would be staying at Liverpool, fans still fret that Torres's head could be turned by a £30m bid from Chelsea. And, should a takeover fall through, such an offer may be too inviting for the club's American owners to resist.

With Liverpool restricted to Europa League football this season, Torres may be forgiven for hankering after Champions League involvement and a realistic title challenge.

Happily for Hodgson the man from Fuenlabrada, a working-class Madrid outskirt, is big on quaintly old-fashioned concepts such as loyalty and community identity. Were he English, a distinctly non-stereotypical 'star' frequently seen walking his dogs in Liverpool parks would probably be a perfect poster boy for David Cameron's 'big society'.

Moreover, in a world where leading strikers frequently see themselves as expensive guns always discreetly available for hire to the highest bidder, Torres shuns the idea of a mercenary's life.

A natural desire for involvement in realistic pursuits of the game's biggest domestic prizes is tempered by the real contentment he feels on Merseyside where Liverpool FC retains a considerable pull on his emotions.

Torres – who said he would struggle to play for another team in Spain after reluctantly leaving Atlético Madrid for England – swiftly became similarly attached to an atmospheric, evocative Anfield habitat which appeals to his romantic streak. Visitors to the home he shares with his pregnant wife and one-year-old daughter are constantly surprised by the number of well-thumbed books and oft viewed DVDs detailing the club and city's history.

"What my club represents is very important," he says. "If you know what your club stands for and you are part of it you will play better because it means more to you. Every time I pull on a Liverpool shirt I know it's more than just a game. Liverpool has a mentality, an identity, I like. They are a hard-working people's club. They are huge but with a humility."

Unfortunately for Torres they are also in transition at a time when he is approaching his peak. As he acknowledges: "The biggest ambition in my career is to win the European Cup. I want to have pictures and medals to look at later. You can have a contract that is better than your friends but no player looks back and says: 'I made more money.'"

In reality, many probably do these days but Torres remains a professional of principle and soul – even if some of his pouting, flouncing, yellow card punctuated appearances for Benítez's struggling side last season suggested he is human after all.

"This is Liverpool's last chance to keep Nando," his Spain team-mate, Barcelona's David Villa, says. "They have to prove they are capable of challenging on all fronts this season, otherwise he will be gone. Torres is happy at Liverpool in every sense apart from the football.

"He loves the city, the fans and the players. He will not sign for Manchester City because, for him, money is not the most important thing but if Liverpool fail to win anything again I'm sure he'll be at Chelsea next season."

As the Patty Smyth and Don Henley song reminds us: "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough."